James Larson
A record-breaking number of admitted students came to campus this past week from across the globe to participate in Yale Engineering and Science Weekend, Bulldog Days and Bulldog Saturday.
For the first time ever, the Admissions Office scheduled the three events during the same eight day period. More than 70 percent of Yale’s 2,178 admitted students registered to attend at least one of the programs, which are designed to show prospective students what Yale has to offer in terms of courses, social life and extracurricular activities. Bulldog Days — Yale’s largest recruitment — event hosted more than 1,260 admitted students from Monday through Wednesday, and more than 300 additional students registered for Bulldog Saturday. According to Director of Recruitment Hannah Mendlowitz, admissions office data shows that attending Bulldog Days significantly increases an admitted student’s likelihood of choosing Yale.
“We know that there is no substitute for visiting campus in person, especially for those admitted students choosing among excellent college options,” said Mendlowitz.
Mendlowitz highlighted the efforts of “countless” community members who helped host prospective students. More than 800 prospective students visiting Yale were paired with a volunteer host assigned by the admissions office. More than 500 suites hosted students through the admissions office, while another 200 suites hosted prefrosh they knew independent of the admissions office process.
Mendlowitz said that the admissions office is “immensely grateful” for the “thousands” of Yale students who interacted with prospective students, “hundreds” of professors who volunteered their time and “dozens” of student tour guides. Yale also provided “fly-in funding” to help cover transportation costs for more than 500 admitted students to ensure that the cost of attending the program was not prohibitive.
“While meeting hundreds of new people without name tags can be intimidating, I am so glad I was able to attend and get to know some of my new classmates,” said David Foster, a prospective student. “The performances were spectacular, and the specialized smaller events were a great way to meet new people as compared to some of the larger functions.”
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan told the News that one of the signature events of Bulldog Days — Monday night’s welcome showcase — filled every seat in New Haven’s 1,460-seat Shubert Theater.
Quinlan also highlighted another one of the events — a pizza lunch on Wednesday.
“The admissions office helped to coordinate dozens of panels, forums and master classes with Yale faculty, students and staff,” he said. “The New Haven Pizza Party on Wednesday afternoon featured more than 400 pizzas from 7 different restaurants.”
Still, not all of Bulldog Days went as planned. On Monday, two prospective students were struck by a car near the intersection of Elm and High Streets. University Spokesperson Tom Conroy confirmed that neither student sustained serious injuries, although one of the students did go to the hospital.
“I learned about the collision from my staff, who were quick to the scene,” Quinlan told the News at the time. “Although I was not there, I heard the police and emergency medical staff who treated the injured young women did an outstanding job delivering aid quickly and ensuring they were transported to Yale New Haven Hospital as quickly as possible.”
Several activist groups capitalized on the influx of attention directed at campus. Over the course of 48 hours, 24 students affiliated with Student Unite Now — a group which opposes the student effort portion of Yale’s financial aid package colloquially known as the student income contribution — were arrested after hosting sit-ins in front of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall and Phelps Gate on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
On Tuesday, Yale’s security officer union protested outside of SSS to demand fair compensation for “the risks [they] take.” The group is in the midst of ongoing contract negotiations with the University.
Yale admitted 5.91 percent of its applicants in the last admissions cycle — its lowest acceptance rate in recent memory.
Skakel McCooey | skakel.mccooey@yale.edu